Exactly seventeen years after Maddie McCann disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal, a memorial mass has been held at a church in the family’s hometown of Rothley, Leicestershire. There were family members there, as well as her former school director. But notable absentees were parents Gerry and Kate. They were away on a “much-needed vacation,” a family member told the press.
Pastor Robert Gladstone did read a text from them. “We are sorry that we cannot be with you tonight, but we thank you for coming together to share your hope for Madeleine and other missing children. It has been 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us. It’s hard to mention that number without shaking our heads in disbelief. Although we are lucky in many ways and can now live relatively normal and enjoyable lives, living in limbo is still very difficult. And the absence still hurts.”
DNA
In their absence it was someone else who drew all the attention: 22-year-old Polish Julia Wendell. Her arrival from Poland previously caused quite a stir. She has been criticized for some time because she has claimed to be Maddie McCann for years. Wendell even opened the Instagram account @IamMadeleineMcCann and conjures up online theories as to why she is the missing girl.
READ ALSO. She became world news because she thought she was Maddie McCann, but now that the truth is out, she deeply regrets it
A year ago, a DNA test showed that she is indeed of Polish descent and comes from her own family, after which she apologized to Maddie’s parents. And yet she insisted she could be right. That’s why she showed up on Friday with a letter for the parents: she still hopes to get DNA material from them to be completely sure.
“I’m Madeleine McCann,” she said after the 45-minute service. “I have never stopped believing that and I am here because I want to ask Kate and Gerry for a DNA test,” she told the press present. “They haven’t wanted to do anything yet to prove that I’m not their daughter. I’m not crazy, I’m not a liar.”
Dead
Maddie’s family continues to hope that the girl is still alive somewhere, but the police and the courts have already indicated that they consider her deceased. German Christian Brückner (47) is suspected of kidnapping and murder, and the German justice still hopes to prosecute him. In the absence of evidence, this is not obvious. It is not yet clear how to proceed.
